Lazarus Revived: An Atheist Argument for Conscious Life After Death

If you have a passion for philosophy, especially if you're interested by the possibility of conscious life after death, then this book is for you. Lazarus Revived argues that what consciousness amounts to is a whole series of artificial boundaries, or what philosophers call theory ladenness. Ironically, it's only when these boundaries or restrictions are established that we are fully conscious. Even within these restricted boundaries of our thought, what amounts to consciousness in one person is quite different for another.

The author shows how two thought experiments provide the foundation for arguments for the existence of conscious life after death: strictly on the basis of these restrictions and from an atheist point of view. In the absence of these restrictions, say in outer space where there is no up or down or before or after, we have to artificialize experience in order to develop a sense of time and, ultimately, of consciousness.

Lazarus Revived introduces a whole new vision of physics -- one that involves pluriverses rather than what we call the universe. The theory of a Big Bang is examined, and a substitute equation for E=mc2 is presented, giving the entire relation of mathematics to physics a new twist.

Lazarus Revived is written in easy-to-understand language, and there is no mathematics to worry about. The reader is challenged to go further than the author's own philosophical speculations and to come up with new ideas and ways to refine what is presented in the book. Many accessible examples are given and, hopefully, the reader will be drawn into the whole process of thinking and talking about the ideas presented here.

Born in New York City in 1942, Alexander Matthews taught philosophy at a number of universities between 1975 and 1989. In 1986 he was awarded a Visiting Fellowship to Princeton University.

His books include A Diagram of Definition, a piece about the philosophy of language, published in 1997. Other writings include three full-length dramatic poems, a book of short stories and three poetic dramas: Screaming Secrets (2001), Glass Roots (2003) and Do You Love This Planet? (2014). Published essays include: Philosophy and Human Rights, How Some Scientists Erode The Human Rights We Value and The Universe Has No Beginning? Doubts About The Big Bang Theory.

For 15 years Dr. Matthews has chaired the Martha Gellhorn Trust Prize Committee, which offers an annual prize for journalism. He has chaired the NSubF Committee, which advises the UK government on the disposal of nuclear waste from submarines and has been chairman of the local Kingsbridge Peace Group for 27 years.